Focusing Forward - Relishing the Moments
Missionaries at transfer day - outside Badger building
At transfers this past week, as I was walking through the parking lot with lots of missionaries, sweet Elder Welling came up to me and said, “Sister Quinn, are you counting down the days?”
I asked, “To Easter and General Conference? Or Elder Gong coming?”
“No,” he said. “I thought you’d be counting down until you go home in July.”
I laughed. “Nope! Counting days doesn’t make much sense right now. There’s too much to look forward to. President Quinn and I are focusing forward.”
But it did make me wonder what might be fun to count. So, I quickly looked at the calendar to see what’s between now and July. Here’s the list:
Three farewell dinners.
Three welcome dinners.
Three new missionary orientations.
At least three trips to the airport.
Welcoming 29 plus new missionaries.
Transfer day - Badger building parking lot - Hermana Brimhall with Sisters Eater and Mitchell
Saying goodbye to 30 missionaries.
A senior missionary bar-b que.
Fifteen more zone conferences.
Fifteen more Mental Health Moments
Twenty-four more sets of zone interviews.
Five more stake conferences.
One more Sisters’ Conference.
Easter
General Conference.
Transfer day - Bader building parking lot
Speaking in church and Stake Conferences
A missionary meeting with a General Authority.
A special CCM.
One Mission Leader Seminar.
Seventeen Miracle Mondays.
Three more transfer boards.
Three MLCs.
Three MHCs.
Seventeen R&Rs.
Many Zoom meetings.
Seventeen more “Coming to Know Him” Journal Prompts
Driving… more miles than we want to count.
And that’s just what’s on the calendar.
What I really want to know is:
How many more missionary hugs will there be?
How many more phone calls and eMed notes?
How many more baptisms?
Will there be time for a few more lessons?
And how many more ward visits and people to see!
Calendar in mission office - Badger building
And for fun… how many more chances will we have to eat at Gott’s Roadside or Freda’s in Napa, or drive through the Avenue of the Giants and see the vineyards in full bloom?
The next few months will be busy. I suspect I may experience some withdrawal in July. It will definitely feel strange not to be so busy! We will miss the missionaries deeply. Former mission leaders have told us the fourth year is the hardest. I can see why!
You can tell we are well into our third year. This week we had a former missionary visit—with a spouse and a baby! How fun is that? We also attended the wedding of a missionary in the Oakland Temple this weekend!
President and Sister Quinn with Shelby (Tibbetts) and William Torgenson & Olivia
In CASRM we sprint to the end. President Quinn and I are choosing to focus forward and not count down. We intend to relish every minute until we cross that finish line. Until then we have lots to do!
This week we said Good bye to three wonderful sister missionaries and welcomed five new missionaries. It is always a week of many emotions. And now I am sitting in Eureka ready for zone conferences tomorrow. Here is our journal prompt #35! Enjoy! Have a great week. Sister Quinn ❤️
More photos from the week:
President and Sister Quinn with Sister Hankins, Musashino and Dunlap
Elle Vandenberg and new Husband at Oakland Temple
